


Just a Hug, Please.

by jumbled_sentiment



Series: you, your sex is on fire [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:35:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25573687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumbled_sentiment/pseuds/jumbled_sentiment
Summary: “Hungry?”“Mhmm,” Alec responded. It was unclear whether that was an affirmation or not, but Magnus decided to take it as one.“Pizza?” he asked, opting to stick with his one-word question theme, easier for all involved.//Part of a series but can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: you, your sex is on fire [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754860
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	Just a Hug, Please.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This just popped into my head as I opened up another document for an entirely different project I’m working on at the moment. It very literally wrote itself. I honestly don’t believe I even played a part in it. Honestly, I wanted to be working on the other thing and this just happened, so I don’t think I can actually take any credit at all. Maybe the credit should go to the writing gods, whoever they are, because they clearly wanted this out in the universe. 
> 
> But, regardless of where credit should lie, enjoy!

Magnus’ eyes leapt up at the sound of the key turning in his front door. He hadn’t known who’d manage to get out of work first, so he’d slipped a key into Alec’s desk at lunchtime, which hadn’t managed to happen until around 3pm that day. “Hey,” he greeted, taking in Alec’s disheveled appearance, knowing that he himself didn’t look much better. Moments earlier, knowing that the note he’d left along with the key wouldn’t be enough for Alec, he’d texted the other man to insist that he let himself in. Magnus had made himself comfortable on the couch, and if Alec didn’t ignore his compulsion to be polite, he’d be waiting an awful long time out in the hallway. “You let yourself in, I see. Well done, Alexander,” he called, but his chirpy tone was quickly flattened out as he caught sight of Alec’s furrowed brow and moderately bloodshot eyes. “Hey, are you alright?” 

They’d agreed earlier in the week that Friday would be a nothing night, just for them, easily anticipating that neither of them would feel up to anything other than a night on the couch. Each of them had been booked up to the max that week, not managing to schedule a moment’s peace between depositions, settlement meetings and the ridiculous mock trial that Penhallow & Eilish insisted on hosting every year, clinging to the tradition with every ounce of strength in their shallow, greedy hands. For some reason, their hectic weeks had decided to coincide for once, and they’d both known that they wouldn’t be seeing much of each other until the weekend. Nine to five had been swapped out for five to nine, and they’d barely even managed to get a passing glimpse of one another in the office. Between miserable meeting after miserable meeting, the occasional text exchange with his beau had been the highlight of Magnus’ week. He’d expected Alec to be a little bit grumpy. Hell, he was a little grumpy himself, but something in the way Alec avoided his eyes, running his fingers through his hair in what must have been the hundredth time that day, concerned Magnus that maybe his bad week had been a little worse than anticipated. 

“Nothing,” Alec mumbled, one hand wrestling with his tie and one hand balancing himself against the wall as he kicked off his shoes and abandoned his bag on the back of Magnus chair. It was a rather amusing sight, Alec shedding as many articles of clothing as he could on his way over to the couch, ending up in his suit trousers, shirt and matching waistcoat. It was a nice addition to his wardrobe, the waistcoat. Magnus was rather certain that Isabelle was owed most of the credit for that particular piece of art. Oh, and art it was. It was safe to say that Magnus had quite the affinity for a good waistcoat, but nobody rocked one quite like Alexander. 

The face full of fluffy black hair interrupted Magnus’ pondering, as Alec gracelessly flung himself onto the couch and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders. It was clear that he was happy to remain in that position for the rest of the night, and Magnus certainly wouldn’t complain if that’s what he wanted, but he hadn’t eaten since noon, and he had a sneaky suspicion that the other man hadn’t either. Pulling his neck slightly back, so he could open his mouth without eating Alec’s hair, he asked, “Hungry?” 

“Mhmm,” Alec responded. It was unclear whether that was an affirmation or not, but Magnus decided to take it as one. 

“Pizza?” he asked, opting to stick with his one-word question theme, easier for all involved. 

He smirked when Alec made a repeat of his incoherent, half-sigh-half-mumble sound. Honestly, he’d never known Alec to not want pizza, so it wasn’t a difficult decision. Using the oh-so-convenient technology that he really couldn’t decide if he loved or hated, Magnus ordered their food then and there, right from the comfort of his couch. Simply, all he had to do was reach for his phone and press a few buttons, then wait twenty minutes for the food to arrive. It was no wonder such a large proportion of the population walked around the place with an air of entitlement around them nowadays. It must be difficult to remind yourself that you aren’t owed a thing, when everything is right there for the taking. 

Content in one another’s company, the boys were happy to lie there until the intercom buzzed, announcing the arrival of the food that Magnus had so lazily secured. There was no need to ask about the others’ day. If one of them wanted to fill the other in, they knew that they could. Some days Magnus would ask, or Alec would, but after weeks like these, it was a wonder they were even still awake, never mind energetically discussing the events of the day. 

When the intercom rang out across the flat, hideous music to their ears, Alec offered to get the door, making Magnus smirk at how on earth he managed to be such a gentleman when he could barely muster up the strength for a simple conversation. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Magnus murmured, forcing down the urge to laugh at Alec’s hair, sticking out at the oddest angles as he pulled himself up from his boyfriends' chest. 

They ate in mostly silence, noise from tonight's chosen background show, Suits, filling the space. Every so often, Alec would point out a technical inaccuracy in the show’s script, or snort at its apparently absurd depiction of life at a law firm. “Did they seriously think they’d get away with that?” he scoffed. Or, even more amusing, “Nah, there’s no way the weed would have been in his system for that long. Totally unrealistic.” 

“My my, Alexander. Look at you, knowing how long illegal substances will be traceable in a drug test for. I had no idea you were such a rule-flouncer,” Magnus teased, though he was genuinely surprised at Alec’s remark. 

“Jace,” was all Alec said. Then, slightly more reluctantly, “Izzy too.” 

He shouldn’t say it, but he couldn’t help himself. “Remind me to arrange a night out with those two sometime. Oh, and remind me to tell you that you’re not invited.” 

The pillow to the side didn’t hurt, but it did remind him of just how strong his boyfriend was. He’d barely even moved, but the force of the pillow had almost managed to knock Magnus backwards against the couch. Hiding his smirk, he let himself relax into the deep couch cushions, gently rubbing a hand against his side, and let out a quiet, but audible gasp. Alec jerked his head around, scanning Magnus’ posture and apparent pained expression. 

“You alright?” he asked, a deep frown quickly forming. “Did I hurt you?” 

“No.” Magnus shook his head, attempting a small smile. “Not at all,” he reassured, but he still didn’t move. Alec’s expression sent a wave of guilt through Magnus, making his heart physically clench with how much he adored the man in front of him, but that wasn’t enough to make this unamusing. 

“I did, didn’t I?” Alec exclaimed, hands grabbing the hem of Magnus’ shirt. “Show me.” 

The laughter inside of Magnus was too strong to be contained, bubbling up once and for all at Alec demanding to see his side, as though the force of a pillow would have left any discernable mark on his skin at all. He saw the moment when realisation kicked in, the edges of a smile picking up the corners of Alec’s lips, but more noticeably, outrage widening his eyes as he leapt forward with his hands around Magnus’ waist. 

“You little shit!” he cried, joining in Magnus’ laughter as he shoved him down and pinned him easily to the couch. In a fitting display of mock rage, he grabbed the discarded pillow and began to whack Magnus with earnest. “I was worried then!” 

“Your face,” Magnus cried, voice almost embarrassingly shrill between bouts of laughter. “Like a pillow–” he snorted, breaking down into a fresh wave of cackling before he could finish his sentence. “Could leave a mark.” 

“Shut up,” Alec laughed, still raining down pillow blows, though lacking in his original enthusiasm. “You never know, I could have slipped and hit you without realising.” 

Magnus clapped his hand against Alec’s shoulder, cackling uncontrollably. “Or I could just have _incredibly _sensitive skin.”__

__Alec sighed, abandoning his weapon in favour of leaning down to press a kiss into Magnus’ hair. “It’s not my fault I love you,” he murmured, his earnest words once again catching Magnus off guard. “I’m ignoring you now,” he declared, picking up his final slice of pizza and pointedly turning the volume up a few notches._ _

__Magnus snickered to himself, smiling at the way Alec tried to straighten out his face, but didn't quite manage it. He never had been able to feign annoyance, always far too transparent with his emotions. It was one of the things Magnus loved about him, that he was honest even without trying to be. They managed to finish the rest of their food in amicable silence, pillow wars coming to an end in favour of relaxing their tired muscles. It was times like this when Magnus was reminded of just how old he was becoming. In the grand scheme of things, he wasn’t old at all, but he couldn’t stop himself feeling it when his nights consisted of pizza and Netflix instead of alcohol and all too avoidable mistakes._ _

__In all honestly, Magnus wouldn’t trade his life for the world. His job was fulfilling, his friends made him happier than any amount of partying, and Alec was the single most wonderful man he’d ever met. If anybody tried to swap his life now for any of his old ones, when he’d more fun than he'd known what to do with, or when there’d been too much work than he could even make time for, they’d have to rip it from his cold, dead hands before he let a single ounce of it go. It struck him then, that _old _probably wasn’t the right way to describe what he was feeling. The word content seemed much more accurate._ _ __

__

__He realised that the episode had finished when Alec slipped the plate from his lap and walked it over to the sink. Though he’d relaxed significantly since entering Magnus’ apartment, there was still some amount of tension stuck in his posture. There usually was, with Alec. He struggled to switch off like nobody else, and Magnus always wished that there was something more he could do. Though, after much trial and error, he’d found that the simplest option was reliably the best._ _

__

__“Is there anything I can do?” he asked._ _

__

__Alec shook his head, abandoning the plates in the sink, where they both knew that they didn’t need to soak. “I’m fine,” he replied._ _

__

__“Why do you still look stressed then?”_ _

__

__“I dunno,” Alec said, leaning back against the countertop and shrugging. “My natural state, I guess.”_ _

__

__Rising from the couch, Magnus moved to the kitchen with the intention of pouring two strong drinks of whatever spirit was closest to reach. “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do? Nothing on your mind in particular?”_ _

__

__Alec hesitated, enough to stop Magnus in his tracks for the gin bottle. “Well, maybe...”_ _

__

__“Maybe?” Magnus questioned, sidling up and resting against the countertop next to him. It reminded him of the slight height difference between them, but he didn’t mind at all. In fact, Alec’s height was a rather attractive part of him, once Magnus had gotten over his annoyance that he was, undeniably, the shorter of the two of them._ _

__

__Shrugging his shoulders again, Alec seemingly picked up the courage to ask for whatever it was that he clearly wanted. “Just a hug would be nice,” he said quietly. Magnus melted – there was simply no other way to describe it – as he quickly added, “Please.”_ _

__

__Moving forward into Alec’s space, Magnus wrapped his arms securely around the other man and murmured, “Oh, darling, you don’t ever have to ask.”_ _

__

**Author's Note:**

> I mean... kinda silly since Alec essentially lies on Magnus at the beginning, then gets unsure when asking for a hug, but what can I say... shyness comes and goes in waves. Can’t control it, because if we could, I wouldn’t turn into a stumbling mess around every handsome person ever to find themselves in my orbit! Prettiness turns me into a teenager again, and it’s awful! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed, and that you are all keeping yourselves as safe as possible in these shitty-sci-fi-movie-reminiscent times. 
> 
> P.S. in terms of credit, I will take responsibility for any and all mistakes here. The writing gods can make me write, but they cannot make me proofread!


End file.
